Claw
Claw (kla) , noun
[Anglo-Saxon clawu, clā, cleó; akin to Dutch klaauw, German klaue, Icelandic klō, Swedish & Danish klo, and perh. to English clew.]
1.
A sharp, hooked nail, as of a beast or bird.
2.
The whole foot of an animal armed with hooked nails; the pinchers of a lobster, crab, etc.
3.
Anything resembling the claw of an animal, as the curved and forked end of a hammer for drawing nails.
4.
(Botany) A slender appendage or process, formed like a claw, as the base of petals of the pink. — Gray
Collocations (3)
Claw hammer , a hammer with one end of the metallic head cleft for use in extracting nails, etc.
Claw hammer coat , a dress coat of the swallowtail pattern. [Slang]
Claw sickness , foot rot, a disease affecting sheep.
Claw (kla) , transitive verb
[Anglo-Saxon clawan. See Claw, n.]
1.
To pull, tear, or scratch with, or as with, claws or nails.
2.
To relieve from some uneasy sensation, as by scratching; to tickle; hence, to flatter; to court. [Obsolete]
Rich men they claw, soothe up, and flatter; the poor they contemn and despise.
3.
To rail at; to scold. [Obsolete]
In the aforesaid preamble, the king fairly claweth the great monasteries, wherein, saith he, religion, thanks be to God, is right well kept and observed; though he claweth them soon after in another acceptation.
Collocations (4)
Claw me, claw thee , stand by me and I will stand by you; -- an old proverb. — Tyndale
To claw away , to scold or revile. The jade Fortune is to be clawed away for it, if you should lose it.
To claw (one) on the back , to tickle; to express approbation. [Obsolete] — Chaucer
To claw (one) on the gall , to find fault with; to vex. [Obsolete] — Chaucer
Claw , intransitive verb
To scrape, scratch, or dig with a claw, or with the hand as a claw.
Clawing [in ash barrels] for bits of coal.
Collocations (1)
To claw off (Nautical) , to turn to windward and beat, to prevent falling on a lee shore.